In Shi’ah Islam, Justice is the second ingredient of “Roots of Islam”. Any thing can be
fully comprehended by its opposite. Hence, Opposite of Justice is “Zulm” or
oppression.
Shi’ahs believe that Allah does nothing which is rationally
wrong or evil.
Any one who commits wrong or injustice because of the
following reasons:
- He does not know that it is wrong.
- He needs something which can not be obtained without wrongdoing.
- He has been compelled by someone else to commit that wrong.
But Allah is
Omniscient and All-Knowing; He is free from want and is not in need of
anything; and He is Omnipotent and
no body can compel Him to do anything. So, logically it is impossible for Allah
to do any injustice or wrong.
His actions are based on wisdom and intelligent purposes,
though we may not know it.
The other Muslims believe that “actions of Allah are not
caused by any purpose….if He wants to put all creatures in Hell; He is the
ruler and authority….”
We do not always know the reasons for Allah’s actions. In Surah al-Kahf (Cave), Ayahs 66 to 82,
in which Allah describes how Prophet
Musa accompanied Hazrat Khizr on
the condition that he (Musa) will be patient. But after third interruption,
Prophet Khizr explained the reasons for his actions; that the boat he damaged
was because the king was acquiring all working boats and in that case the boat
was owned by poor fishermen, and the boy he killed because his parents were
pious persons and he may bring rebellious and disbelief to them and lastly he
repaired the wall as the father of two boys had buried a treasure below it,
hence he wanted to preserve it till they become adults and retrieve the
treasure.
All laws of Jurisprudence (Shari’ah) are based on wisdom.
Fear and desires are natural instincts and should be utilized for human
upliftment. A Muslim is taught not to fear any body or anything except Allah
and not to desire any thing in this world but to be anxious to receive the Grace of Allah.
Allah’s Promise and
Threat: Allah has promised many rewards for good deeds and threatened to
punish for evil actions on the Day of Judgment. There is difference of opinion
among Muslims. Majority believe that
“Allah is obliged to fulfill neither His promises nor His threats; that He may
put pious believers (even the prophets) in Hell and put the Shaytan in Paradise!” It is based on their belief that
nothing is good or evil by itself. The Shi’ahs believe that it is necessary for
Allah to fulfill His promises of reward because not fulfilling a promise is
against virtue and rationally evil; but it is not necessary for Him to fulfill
His threats of punishments because forgiving the sinners has virtue in itself.
So, if He punishes it will be His
Justice; and if He forgives, it will be His Grace and Mercy.
Compulsion and
Freedom: There is vital difference in Muslims about the compulsion and
freedom of man in his actions.
- The Mutazilahs say that man is completely free in his actions.
- The Jabriyyahs say that man has no control over his actions.
He is tool in Allah’s hands like a pen in our hand.
- The Asha’irahs say that man has no power or will of his own actions;
but he still “earns” or “acquires”
the action. What they actually mean is a riddle.
- The Shi’ahs say that man is neither completely independent of
Allah nor compelled by Allah,
but the actual position is between
these two extremes.
Representing the
Asha’irahs, Imam Ghazali explains; “No act of any individual is independent of
the will of Allah for its existence; and there does not occur either in physical or extra-terrestrial world the
wink of an eye, the hind of a thought, or the most sudden glance, except by the
decree of Allah, of His power, desire or will. This includes evil and good,
benefit or harm, success or failure, sin and righteousness, obedience and disobedience,
polytheism or true belief.”
This belief was invented by Bani Umaiyyads to provide a respectable mask
to their debauchery and tyranny as Allama Shibli Nu’mani has admitted in his
book “Ilmulkalam”; “The rein of Bani Umayyads was full of cruelty and bloodshed….but the
well wishers of the government silenced the people saying what ever happens,
good or bad, takes place according to the will of Almighty…”
The Shi’ah’s belief: The Shi’ahs believe they know the difference
between falling down from a roof top and coming down by ladders. The second act is done by our power, will and intention; while the
falling down is not so. Therefore, what we do is our own actions and should not
be attributed solely to Allah. Similarly, we may be advised to treat an ailment
in a particular way, but we cannot be advised to recover from the illness. It
means that getting the treatment is in our power, but getting well is not
within our sphere of activities. Shaykh
Saduk (r.a.) says: “Allah possesses fore-knowledge of human actions, but does
not compel them to act in a particular manner.
The following example clearly
portrays this “middle position”:
Suppose a man’s hand is totally
paralyzed and he cannot move even a finger. A doctor has fitted an electrical
devise on his hand which, on being
switched on, enables the man to use his hand freely in a normal way. The device
is activated by a remote control which the doctor keeps in his custody. When
the doctor switches the device on, the man uses his hand in any way he intends,
but when the device is off, he cannot do any thing. Now if the device is on and
the patient does any work, can that work be attributed independently to him?
No, because the power comes from that device which is fully controlled by the
doctor.
Then can it be attributed to the
doctor? No, because the man had done it by his own free will and choice.
This is exactly the position of our activities. We are not under
compulsion because the will and choice is ours; nor are we completely
independent, because the power to do whatever we intend to do comes from Allah.
And at what point does our
ability to do things start? Imam Musa
al-Kazim (a.s.) says: “A man acquires that ability when four conditions are
fulfilled:
- when there is nothing to hinder his plans;
- his health and
- the faculties (needed to do that work) are up to the
required standard; and
- Allah provides him the occasion of that work. When
all these conditions are fulfilled, a man becomes capable of acting
according to his own free will.
When asked for an example, the
Imam said, Let us suppose that there is a man, without any hindrance, of good
health and proper strength; yet he cannot commit adultery unless he finds a
woman. When he gets a woman (and the fourth condition is fulfilled), then it is
up to him to choose one of the two alternatives: either he controls his evil
emotions and saves himself (as Prophet Yusuf) did, or he commits adultery. If
he protects himself from the sin, it will not be by compulsion of Allah (as
some people think). And if he commits the sin, it does not mean that he was
above the power of Allah (as others think).
Reference:
Justice of God Sayyid
Saeed Akhtar Rizvi
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